West Africa Art and Economy
This was valuable in people’s diets and was used to preserve and season foods.
What is salt?
History wasn't written down in West Africa, history was remembered through storytellers in a process known as this
What is oral tradition or oral history?
The first great West African trading center
What is Ghana?
According to legend, Mali's rise to power began under this leader
Who is Sundiata?
Berbers were willing to trade with Songhai because they shared this religion.
WHAT IS ISLAM?
This mountain range is in North Africa, near the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean
What are the Atlas Mountains?
The people of Ghana would exchange salt and gold through a process called this
What is the silent barter?
West African rulers begin converting to Islam around this year
What is 1000 A.D.?
The capital of Ghana
What is Kumbi Saleh?
Mali's greatest and most famous ruler was this Muslim king who enlarged this empire by making conquered (subject) kings pay him tribute
Who was Mansa Musa?
These people are African storytellers who memorize and recite the names and histories of their people including memorizing family trees
What are griots?
Mali's location on this river allowed its people to control its trade
What is the Niger river?
West Africans made this type of visual art to honor ancestors & the gods and inspired artists around the world, including Pablo Picasso.
What are masks?
This resource was significant for West Africans for help with clearing the lands and making superior weapons
What is Iron?
Men and women in traditional West Africa society belonged to this group
What are extended families (tribes) or age-sets?
in 1324, Muslim King Mansa Musa went on this, introducing his empire to his religion.
What is a pilgrimage for Islam?
This founder of Mali became very rich by taxing trade and was able to construct impressive building in the kingdom of Mali
Who was Sundiata Keita?
The tropical Sahara desert climate could be described as this
Heads were made by the Nok people using this art technique
What is terracotta?
These people led desert caravans through the Sahara?
Who were the Berbers?
This is a belief that bodies of water, animals, trees, and other natural objects have spirits
What is animism?
The trans-Saharan Trade routes brought highly valued commodities such as gold and slaves but also brought this to West Africa
What is Islamic culture?
Foreigners influenced the culture of Timbuktu in these ways
The vast trading network brought artists from Spain to build palaces, cloth came from Europe, and shells came from Persia for example
The capital city of Ghana, Koumbi-Saleh was located halfway between these two things
What are salt mines in the north and gold mines in the south?
The Nok people were the first Africans to extract iron from rock through this process
What is smelting?
Kings (mansas) were able to raise profits for their empires by doing what?
By taxing the goods people brought into and then out of their empire
These people were Muslims who attacked Ghana and cut off many of its trade routes, weakening the empire
Who were the Almoravids?
In 1431, the Tuareg seized this important city of cultural and educational importance, ruining the Mali empire
What was Timbuktu?
For special occasions, West African kings and queens wore garments made of this brightly colored fabric.
What is kente?
These were the four environments (in order of driest to wettest) of West Africa
What is the Sahara, the sahel, the savannah, and the rainforest?